Div 1 Team Report - 2021/22
Overall this was a more than satisfactory campaign for the club’s first season back in Division 1 for many years. The team finished 6th out of 12 losing only 5 of the 11 matches in the process. The division was eventually won by Solihull who managed to beat all other teams except Mutual Circle.
The season may have been even better were it not for a dismal night in Walsall Kipping (who were relegated at season end) and on only one occasion were the six strongest players all available – a 5-1 win over the division’s weakest team South Birmingham C.
Notable performances came from Eduardo, Luke, Wole and Chris who all managed to achieve success ratios somewhere between 67% to 79%. Wole and Chris remained unbeaten throughout.
Many thanks to all those from the Division 4 team who made themselves available to play as a reserve.
Overall this was a more than satisfactory campaign for the club’s first season back in Division 1 for many years. The team finished 6th out of 12 losing only 5 of the 11 matches in the process. The division was eventually won by Solihull who managed to beat all other teams except Mutual Circle.
The season may have been even better were it not for a dismal night in Walsall Kipping (who were relegated at season end) and on only one occasion were the six strongest players all available – a 5-1 win over the division’s weakest team South Birmingham C.
Notable performances came from Eduardo, Luke, Wole and Chris who all managed to achieve success ratios somewhere between 67% to 79%. Wole and Chris remained unbeaten throughout.
Many thanks to all those from the Division 4 team who made themselves available to play as a reserve.
Div 4 Team Report - 2021/22
This was a very successful season for our team: we not only gained promotion to Div 3 but also became Division Champions, just pipping South Birmingham who sadly managed to beat us in the head-to-head match – where we had to field a reserve and also to default on Board 4 due to a dates mix-up.
Our success was greatly aided by a 3 ½ out of 4 performance on Board 1 from Mike Hollier - before he was obliged to move up to Div 1 leaving me in the hot-seat! Other notable performances came from Phil Wells (undefeated on 5 ½ out of 7) and Matt Trigg, who was not available for much of the season but contributed a useful 2/2 towards the end of the year. I didn't do too badly myself scoring 4/6 and also remaining unbeaten. Xander Bloom, making his début for the club, scored 2 ½ from 4. However, it was the overall team performance that eventually brought home the bacon with a total of 11 members turning out for the side at some point during the season. (A high number considering that Div 4 matches only involved four players in each team). And, pleasingly, every person who actually played in a match was able to contribute at least ½ point to our points tally. Saket Singhal was our most regular player, taking part in 9 matches with a score of 3 ½ from 9.
A big thank you to all our reserves, particularly to Peter who came to our rescue three times – often at short notice – and gained a 50/% score.
If anyone in the team would like to attend the Div 4 Trophy presentation ceremony: this will take place towards the start of the BDCL's Annual General Meeting on Monday, 6th June, at Kynoch club.
As a last comment, I note that if we take up the place that we have earned in Div 3 next season then things will be a lot harder! Teams will be of 6 players not 4 (possibly stretching our club's resources) and the average gradings of our opponents are likely to be around 100 points higher. Could be a challenge....
This was a very successful season for our team: we not only gained promotion to Div 3 but also became Division Champions, just pipping South Birmingham who sadly managed to beat us in the head-to-head match – where we had to field a reserve and also to default on Board 4 due to a dates mix-up.
Our success was greatly aided by a 3 ½ out of 4 performance on Board 1 from Mike Hollier - before he was obliged to move up to Div 1 leaving me in the hot-seat! Other notable performances came from Phil Wells (undefeated on 5 ½ out of 7) and Matt Trigg, who was not available for much of the season but contributed a useful 2/2 towards the end of the year. I didn't do too badly myself scoring 4/6 and also remaining unbeaten. Xander Bloom, making his début for the club, scored 2 ½ from 4. However, it was the overall team performance that eventually brought home the bacon with a total of 11 members turning out for the side at some point during the season. (A high number considering that Div 4 matches only involved four players in each team). And, pleasingly, every person who actually played in a match was able to contribute at least ½ point to our points tally. Saket Singhal was our most regular player, taking part in 9 matches with a score of 3 ½ from 9.
A big thank you to all our reserves, particularly to Peter who came to our rescue three times – often at short notice – and gained a 50/% score.
If anyone in the team would like to attend the Div 4 Trophy presentation ceremony: this will take place towards the start of the BDCL's Annual General Meeting on Monday, 6th June, at Kynoch club.
As a last comment, I note that if we take up the place that we have earned in Div 3 next season then things will be a lot harder! Teams will be of 6 players not 4 (possibly stretching our club's resources) and the average gradings of our opponents are likely to be around 100 points higher. Could be a challenge....
Division 5